Global voice and social television: Exploring microblogging responses to “The Voice” shows in China and Germany

Abstract

This study examines the audiences’ discussions on the local adaptations of The Voice of China and The Voice of Germany through a content analysis of 128 microblogging posts. Specifically, this research explores the content, language and tone of the sampled posts on Sina Weibo and Twitter, respectively. The study found that while German audiences take notice of various topics relating to the show, Chinese audiences mainly focus on talents. The Chinese audiences have also paid attention to the talents’ age in accordance with their respect to the elderly in the society. Compared to the German audiences, the Chinese audiences post in their mother tongue exclusively and they are more critical. The findings suggest marked differences of the audiences’ responses to the shows on microblogging websites in different national contexts, but also partly challenge the traditional cultural values proposed by Hall and Hofstede based on researches of offline behaviors.